And here in the UK, there is at least a requirement that at the age of 70 onwards, a driver must retake their test every year to ensure they're still capable.

Really? I thought that idea has been shelved.

It's a common misconception. You have to renew your licence at 70, but you are not required to retake your test. You need to get your eyes checked, and confirm that you have sufficient eyesight to drive, but that's it.

There was a big call for it a couple of years ago, but the law never got changed.

Here in Ontario, drivers have to do the written test every two years when they reach the age of 80.

I'm a little worried my Dad won't be able to pass the test because he is (diagnosed only by me) dyslexic. But I've found out that the City my brother lives in will give the test orally so if Dad's town isn't equipped to do that, maybe he can take the test in my brother's city.

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After cleaning out my Dad's house, I have this advice: If you haven't used it in a year, throw it out!!!!.

Speaking of getting eyes checked, it kind of makes me laugh that my license says I have to wear glasses or lenses to drive. I have such a strong prescription I wouldn't even be able to find my car without them!

And here in the UK, there is at least a requirement that at the age of 70 onwards, a driver must retake their test every year to ensure they're still capable.

Really? I thought that idea has been shelved.

It's a common misconception. You have to renew your licence at 70, but you are not required to retake your test. You need to get your eyes checked, and confirm that you have sufficient eyesight to drive, but that's it.

There was a big call for it a couple of years ago, but the law never got changed.

There was a big push for it here in NSW (Australia) a few years ago, plus a proposal that seniors be made to wear "S" plates on their cars. The leading motoring group got VERY irate because, all these stories aside, seniors cause far FEWER serious accidents than most other age groups. You do have to have a medical though.

She has a neurological condition that causes her heart rate to spike and her blood pressure to drop (yeah, I don't get it either) any time she physically exerts herself or gets excited. This means that even standing up out of a chair can cause her to pass out.

I'm not a doctor (and I don't even play one on TV), but if you look at it the other way (her blood pressure drops, and then her heart rate speeds up to try to compensate but it doesn't work it kind of makes sense.

It does make sense. Cardiac output = stroke volume x heart rate. When your blood pressure drops the heart has to work harder to keep blood circulating to appropriately perfuse your tissues and it can only do this in so many ways, the easier being speeding up.

I know it's terrifying to lose independence like that, but driving like that might just be itching for a Darwin Award.

I saw a story on the news this morning where an elderly woman confused the gas for the brake and drove right through the front windows of a store...narrowly missing the owner's 16month old son who walked right in front of the door seconds before she plowed through it. Miraculously, the toddler is fine, as is the woman, but she will lose her license and her car.

I hate the idea of losing my freedom when I'm older but I would hate to have the death of another living being on my conscience even more.

A friend just told me this story, it happened yesterday.

Long story short she was exiting from the freeway and a car was coming toward her. (Going the wrong way trying to enter the freeway from the off ramp.) The person realized what they were doing and was able to turn around.

My friend was following the car thinking, that car looks like moms car, and then thinking that person looks like mom.

Mom it was, her mother is 80. My friend caught up with her and told her that there would be changes; her mother told her that she knew that.

So now my friend and her family are taking the car away and making arrangements to drive mom everywhere she needs to go.

I work in a high school that has a very specific population. Our school's seniors make and sell pizzas as a fundraiser about 6 times during the year for their end-of-the-year trip. The 8th graders at the elementary school that is also for this same population also does pizza for their end-of-the-year trip, but they do lunches and only do 4 a year. This year, the two schedules had 2 conflicts of dates on them. Our seniors immediately said they'd give up the one date, but not the second date because the second date is Super Bowl Sunday and they are hoping that will help their sales, as well as a few other reasons. The elementary school claims they can't move their date either. Our seniors are basically like 'well, we'll probably lose some sales, but hopefully we'll make it up because of the date, and that is life.' The elementary school is upset that we won't move our date at all. So, basically, we were expected to cancel both our dates and they don't have to do anything. Did I mention I'm on the board of that elementary school (this is my 4th 2 year term and my 2nd term as an officer) and we have a board meeting tonight? I'm planning on politely pointing out to the principal how unhappy I am with how this is being handled by the elementary school. It isn't the principal I've been dealing with, but this does reflect badly on the school.

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"The test of good manners is to be patient with bad ones" - Solomon ibn Gabirol

Another time, someone who was parked in front of me outside a school backed right into me, despite my frantic honking. His reason? "I didn't see you." Yeah, you didn't even look, didja buddy?

I had this happen one morning while waiting in a drive through. There was a long line that I was firmly in the middle off, and a man came out and hopped into his car to my left, then promptly tried to back into me. My honking didn't get his attention- he didn't notice me until the car behind me started honking at him as well.

The extra special snowflake portion of this is that when he put his car into park and got out of the car, he didn't come over to apologize to me....he came over to scream at me for "appearing out of nowhere" (hah) and to inform me that I was a <badword> for not backing up and getting out of his way immediately. When I pointed out that the line hadn't moved since before he came out of the store, and there were numerous cars behind me, so I couldn't have backed up if I wanted to, he called me another name and got back into his car. He then spent the next 10 minutes revving his engine at me and flipping me off until the line moved.

Granted, the parking lot of this place is teeny, and if you park on the sides of the store you really have to be able to maneuver your car in and out of tight spots due to the drive through. I get that- I think it's really poor design on the store's part- but screaming and raging at another customer is bad form. He also had room to pull out- he just needed to back out of the spot while turning, not back straight out and then turn.

I'm listening to a favorite series of books, and not enjoying the narrator. I posted on the Amazon discussion boards for that author and asked if anyone else didn't like the narrator, and listed my reasons why I didn't (which include her pausing at really odd times, and not pronouncing Mackinac right, despite half a book being set there).

Most of the others said that they liked her, but one listener told me that if I didn't like the books, to read them instead, and that I shouldn't complain about them at all. Just go read them. Despite me explaining that I like to listen to something I've read (multiple times) and don't have to have my full attention on.

Mispronunciation and strange emphasis drives me up one wall and down the other. A priest at a church I used to attend liked to trot out his knowledge of literature and use it to illustrate a point about scripture. I sat through a sermon grinding my teeth while he incorrectly used Kafka's "Metamorphosis" to illustrate a point...but more to the point, I ground my teeth because he kept referring to Gregor Samsa as "George" in what had to be the most curious blend of New York and Boston accents. "Jahje" is turned into a giant cockroach because he isn't happy enough.

Of course, there was also the famous parable about the man set upon by thieves and tossed into a ditch who was ignored by all those of his religion, but was saved by the Good SammerAhtin....(at which point I ran screaming from the church in horror...no, just kidding....but had I known of their existence back then, I think I would have allowed the Weeping Angels to touch me....)

Years ago I was watching a program on a public TV station that had to do with astronomy, and an astronomer from the University of Georgia was interviewed. This gentleman spoke with the most interesting combination of British/Georgia Southern accent I think I've ever heard.

I'm listening to a favorite series of books, and not enjoying the narrator. I posted on the Amazon discussion boards for that author and asked if anyone else didn't like the narrator, and listed my reasons why I didn't (which include her pausing at really odd times, and not pronouncing Mackinac right, despite half a book being set there).

Most of the others said that they liked her, but one listener told me that if I didn't like the books, to read them instead, and that I shouldn't complain about them at all. Just go read them. Despite me explaining that I like to listen to something I've read (multiple times) and don't have to have my full attention on.

Mispronunciation and strange emphasis drives me up one wall and down the other. A priest at a church I used to attend liked to trot out his knowledge of literature and use it to illustrate a point about scripture. I sat through a sermon grinding my teeth while he incorrectly used Kafka's "Metamorphosis" to illustrate a point...but more to the point, I ground my teeth because he kept referring to Gregor Samsa as "George" in what had to be the most curious blend of New York and Boston accents. "Jahje" is turned into a giant cockroach because he isn't happy enough.

Of course, there was also the famous parable about the man set upon by thieves and tossed into a ditch who was ignored by all those of his religion, but was saved by the Good SammerAhtin....(at which point I ran screaming from the church in horror...no, just kidding....but had I known of their existence back then, I think I would have allowed the Weeping Angels to touch me....)

Years ago I was watching a program on a public TV station that had to do with astronomy, and an astronomer from the University of Georgia was interviewed. This gentleman spoke with the most interesting combination of British/Georgia Southern accent I think I've ever heard.

Just as a point of interest, much of the traditional Southern accent actually originates from the aristocratic English accents of the plantation owners.

Another time, someone who was parked in front of me outside a school backed right into me, despite my frantic honking. His reason? "I didn't see you." Yeah, you didn't even look, didja buddy?

I had this happen one morning while waiting in a drive through. There was a long line that I was firmly in the middle off, and a man came out and hopped into his car to my left, then promptly tried to back into me. My honking didn't get his attention- he didn't notice me until the car behind me started honking at him as well.

The extra special snowflake portion of this is that when he put his car into park and got out of the car, he didn't come over to apologize to me....he came over to scream at me for "appearing out of nowhere" (hah) and to inform me that I was a <badword> for not backing up and getting out of his way immediately. When I pointed out that the line hadn't moved since before he came out of the store, and there were numerous cars behind me, so I couldn't have backed up if I wanted to, he called me another name and got back into his car. He then spent the next 10 minutes revving his engine at me and flipping me off until the line moved.

Granted, the parking lot of this place is teeny, and if you park on the sides of the store you really have to be able to maneuver your car in and out of tight spots due to the drive through. I get that- I think it's really poor design on the store's part- but screaming and raging at another customer is bad form. He also had room to pull out- he just needed to back out of the spot while turning, not back straight out and then turn.

I got to witness a 'questionable backing' incident, although I'm not sure if it was special snowflakeness, or plain old DUH that was the instigator. Near my work, there are two traffic lights fairly close together. I went through the first light and got into the left turn bay at the second. The light behind me turned red, and the traffic started to back up in the opposing lane. Mr. DUH pulled through my intersection, completely blocking my left turn, and stopped there to wait out the backup. Ok, no problem, I can wait until the light changes to let him out of my way. But then, he must have either noticed me, or the other cars that couldn't get through the intersection because of where he'd stopped. He put his car into *reverse* and started backing up through the intersection...right toward the driver behind him who had had the sense to stop at the stop bar!

Cue massive horn blast from the sensible driver trying to protect his car. Mr. DUH stopped with a yard to spare, just as the cars in front started moving again. Seriously though, why on earth would you throw the car in reverse when surrounded by other stopped vehicles?

My grandmother lost her license not so much for bad driving, but because her Alzheimer's led her to getting lost. One morning she walked to mass at a church within walking distance of the home she lived in (Assisted living) but when she came out she panicked cause she couldn't remember where she parked her car. Another time she drove and then parked at a diner and went in to call my aunt cause she didn't know where she was.

She didn't like losing her freedom, but she accepted it.

I found out somewhat recently that when DH was little, his grandmother would make him steer the car while she looked for something in her purse. There had to have been an angel watching over them, and I imagine MIL was none too happy with her mother when she found that out.

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Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars. You have a right to be here. Be cheerful, strive to be happy. -Desiderata

We've often joked that our little Toyota Echo is an accident magnet. We've had at least five accidents since we bought it in 2006, and none of them have been our fault.

What color is it? I knew of someone who had an accident-magnet car; the color sort of blended with the pavement so that it was hard for other drivers to see it. She started driving with headlights on all the time, and the number of close calls dropped dramatically.

My grandmother lost her license not so much for bad driving, but because her Alzheimer's led her to getting lost. One morning she walked to mass at a church within walking distance of the home she lived in (Assisted living) but when she came out she panicked cause she couldn't remember where she parked her car. Another time she drove and then parked at a diner and went in to call my aunt cause she didn't know where she was.

She didn't like losing her freedom, but she accepted it.

I found out somewhat recently that when DH was little, his grandmother would make him steer the car while she looked for something in her purse. There had to have been an angel watching over them, and I imagine MIL was none too happy with her mother when she found that out.

Mum frequently called the police and reported her car stolen in the earlier stages of her Alzheimer's - hard to deal with when you're in another country. We actually used to have the police (in NZ) call us (in Australia) whenever Mum called so we could get it sorted.